


Second Chances

by Roadrunner74



Series: Second Chances [1]
Category: Mach GoGoGo | Speed Racer, Speed Racer (2008)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-11-06
Updated: 2011-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-13 02:18:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/131731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roadrunner74/pseuds/Roadrunner74
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Racer X has more than his share of secrets. But when one he thought was deeply buried, comes to the surface; will he admit to the truth before it's too late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in an AU after-movieverse, if that makes since. Basically everything in the movie happened like it did; but I built on the gaps between the scenes. In this story, the Grand Prix was a month ago. I borrowed the CIB agents for this story. The CIB team was created on the Speed_fic fandom on Live Journal.

“Now remember, we’re dealing with Rafer Cobb: who’s always armed, and always dangerous.” Inspector David Detector instructed his team as they prepare for a bust. “This guy has a record a country mile long. We know he won’t hesitate to kill. So watch yourselves.”

The Team approached the door to the warehouse, where Jack kicked in the door. X threw a flash bomb into the room that exploded on impact; further confusing the men inside. But as soon as the shock wore off; the sound of a gun fight filled the air. And the next ten minutes are a blur as the agents returned fire.   Suddenly the sound of gunfire ceased and the building became eerily quiet. The Agents carefully make their way into the building to find the bodies of three men on the floor. Looking over the bodies, Cobb is noticeably absent; he had either not been there or he had escaped out the back.

 The only thing the team could do was gather the evidence and hope the team that was covering the back of the building had caught him. The shouts of “clear” could be heard as the team went systematically through the building. 

 Jack and X approached a door that has locks completely down the side of it. What struck the pair as strange was that all the locks were on the outside; signifying that there was something inside that Cobb didn’t want to get out. 

 Undoing the locks, X enters the room first while Jack covers him on the outside. 

 “Jack, get in here!” Jack hears X shout. Keeping his gun drawn, Jack entered the room to cover his teammate. 

 When Jack stepped into the small, dimly lit room, the first thing that he noticed was the smell. He couldn’t describe it, but it was strong enough that he felt his stomach lunge. 

 Choking it back, he looked around the room for X. What he saw, however; Jack was sure would haunt him for the rest of his life.  

 A small girl was huddled in the corner; her wrists chained to the wall by way of a pair of handcuffs wrapped around a pipe that ran up the wall. In the dim light of the room, her long hair appeared to be either dark blond or light brown; but because of the dirt and grime that covered her it was hard to be sure. The girl was wearing a pair of pajamas that were about three sizes too large and were filthy.

 Jack couldn't help but see his daughter Katie in this girl's place and it was an image that nearly made him sick.   “Oh God.” Jack whispers quietly, as his throat suddenly became dry. 

 Racer X reached out a hand to the girl’s shoulder, but she cringed and jerked away sharply; banging the wall in the process. Immediately Racer X pulled back.  “Don’t be frightened,” X assured; his voice quiet and soothing, as he sounded like he was trying to calm a frightened animal. “We won’t hurt you.  It’s all right.  You’re safe now.”

 The girl seemed to study X's face. Jack noticed that she didn't seem to comprehend anything that was being said to her. Jack couldn't tell if it was because she didn't understand English or if she was actually deaf.  Jack noticed as she was watching them, especially X, intently; her eyes were filled with fear. 

 X reached out again to try to pick the lock on the cuffs. Surprisingly, the girl allowed X to touch her this time to unlock the cuffs.  As X helped her up, the girl swayed dangerously before collapsing to the floor again like a rag doll.  X just managed to catch her before she hit the floor.  

 Working with a gentleness nobody would ever have believed possible, X shifted the girl’s head to his shoulder and slipped one arm under the girl’s back and the other under her knees. X noticed that she didn’t even stir as he raised her up.The girl was very light for her apparent age, lighter than what X considered to be healthy.

Soundlessly, X made his way out of the room. Clutching his small burden close to his chest like fragile glass; afraid that she would break if handled too roughly. 

When they got outside, the girl whimpers slightly as the cold air hits the exposed skin of her back.  When X laid her gently in the back seat of the car, the girl made a high pitched noise of pain. Minx climbs into the back seat, and whispers reassurances to the girl until she calms down again. 

 The team split up, Frank, Ethan, and Jack headed back to headquarters; while X, David and Minx take the girl to the hospital. 

 

At the hospital, the girl was immediately taken into the emergency room. Minx had gone with her to make sure everything is done to the courts standards to be admissible in court. 

 X knew that Minx would also be looking for any distinctive features or identifing marks that could be used to locate the girl’s family. When Minx stepped into the hallway, both X and David noticed the somber expression on her face.  

“Did she say anything about who she is or why she was where we found her?” David asked, to which Minx just shook her head. 

 “The girl didn’t even make a single sound. She wouldn’t even make eye contact at all. Her body is covered with scars and bruises. The doctor performed a rape kit…” The air even seemed to still as they all suspected what the results were. “…it was positive. Several times in fact.”  Minx said, then in almost a whisper added: “She couldn’t be more than nine years old.” 

 “Was there anything we could run through the database?”  David asked, wondering if the girl had any family that had reported her missing. 

 “She does have a bone deformity on her left foot. In addition to the older scars it may be enough to see if she has any family.”

 No one noticed the slight change in X’s demeanor at the mention of the bone deformity. The senario was a little too familiar to Racer X. His brain was trying to convince him that it was only a coincidence; while his heart was fighting that it wasn’t.  

 At that moment X already knew he would be back at the hospital first thing in the morning. He had to find the answers to the questions he had about this girl.   


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Jack Burns moved silently through his house. It was one of the nights when he was thankful to be home. Jack  walks down the hall to a bedroom door. Quietly he opens the door. Inside the room his daughter Katie is sound asleep. 

He crossed the room to the bed quietly and sat on the edge of the bed. As he watched Katie sleep for a few minutes, Jack’s mind drifted to another girl. Even after all his years in the CIB he still had a hard time if one of his cases involved a child. Minx had reported what had been discovered at the hospital and Jack had never felt the anger towards another human being as strongly as what he did towards Rafer Cobb at that moment. 

In his mind, Jack could still see the girl’s fear filled eyes. Being a father, he had wanted to hold that little girl close and soothe the fear away as he had with Katie when she was little. But Jack also knew that the fear in this little girl couldn’t be easily fixed by being held close and a mug of hot chocolate; like Katie’s could.  

“I love you, Katie.” Jack whispers as he runs a large hand over Katie’s hair and plants a small kiss on her temple. Getting up from the bed, Jack leaves the room to head to his own to get ready for bed. 

 

Early the next morning, a black car sped around the street corners in the city as if it was particapating in a race aginst itself. The car only slowed when it approched the Children’s Hospital.  Last night X couldn’t the image of the girl Cobb had been holding captive from his mind. This morning he was going to try to get the answers to the questions that he had about who she is.  Getting out of his street car, X made his way into the lobby of the hospital and approched the nurse’s desk in the lobby. 

 “Excuse me, I was wondering if you had any information on the girl brought in by the CIB yesterday?” X said as the nurse looked up from the computer she was working on. 

 “Are you with the CIB?” The nurse asked. 

 “Yes, I am.” X said as he opened his wallet and showed her his badge. “I was wondering if I could see her.”

 “Normally we don't allow Non-family visitors, but since she doesn’t have any known family; I don't see how a few minutes would do any harm. If you come with me I’ll show you to her room.”

 The nurse lead X down the hallway, around the corner, to the last room on the right. When the door opened, X just caught a glimpse of the girl before she had pulled thesheet and blankets over her head in an effort to hide. The nurse walked over and tried to pull the blanket down. But when the girl refused to let her, the nurse laid a hand on the girl’s arm. 

 “Sweetie, there’s someone here to see you. Won’t you come out and talk to him?” The nurse said in a soothing voice; trying to coax the girl into releasing the vice grip she had on the sheet and blanket. But the girl stubornly refused, X knew it was because she was afraid of people. But by the way she was acting made X wonder just how deep that trama went. 

 Giving up, the nurse left the room. X moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Was it his imagination of did he actually feel the girl flinch as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

 “It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you. Can’t you come out from under there and talk to me?” 

 The girl’s fingers slowly let go of the blanket, but she didn’t make a move to uncover her face. 

 As Racer X pulled the blanket down from the girl’s face, he was shocked to find his eyes locked with a pair of midnight blue eyes. But it wasn’t only the color of the eyes that almost sent him reeling back in shock, the shape of her eyes are very familiar. 

 At that moment his mind transposed another face with similar features onto the girl’s. He stared at the girl’s face for a few more moments; before he closed his eyes trying to clear the other face his mind had placed over the girl’s. 

 When Racer X opened his eyes again the image was still there; almost mocking him as he tried to clear the image from his brain. 

 “So why don’t you tell me your name. I can’t just call you ‘hey you’; can I?” For some reason he had to know her name, it would help him separate his conflicting thoughts about this situation. When the girl didn’t say anything X decided to change his tactic. 

 X remembered the easiest way to get information out of Speed when they were younger was to have Speed correct him if he had said something wrong. While it was a longshot, it was still worth a try. “You know, I’m good at guessing names; and I bet I can guess yours.” X said pretending to concentrate on guessing the girl’s name. 

 “Let’s see,” X said as he tried to think up a name that was probably wrong so she would correct him. “I bet your name is Christina.”

 The girl just shook her head. “No? Ok, well let’s try again.” This time X pretended to really study the girl’s face.  “I think I got it this time. It’s Emily; right?” 

 The girl shook her head again. “No? I’m really batting zero here. Aren’t I?”

 “Arianna.” It had been so quiet that X had thought he had misunderstood her. Surely Fate couldn’t be that cruel to him as to have her be named Arianna. He was having a hard enough of a time looking at the girl’s face; and with the unique name as Arianna, it would only make things harder for him. 

 “What was that?” X asked, wanting her to repeat what she had said. 

 “I said my name is Arianna.”

 As X watched, Arianna absently pulled a necklace out from underneath her gown. As she toyed with her necklace, seemingly lost in thought; X caught a glimpse of the charm and it nearly caused him to choke on air. The gold locket was undeniably familiar, and any lingering doubts as to who the girl in front of him was disappeared in that instant.

 After years of training, he was able to keep his expression neutral despite the emotions building inside. “Arianna? That’s a pretty name. And it suits the owner just fine.” 

 Arianna gave a small smile, and any shards of doubt that his brain was still latching onto was shattered. He knew at that moment exactly who she was. 

 Still playing the devil’s advocate, X kept his strait face. “How old are you, Arianna?” He didn’t have to ask that for he knew the exact second she had entered the world. 

 “I just turned ten last month.” Arianna answered with a yawn. 

 Glancing at her arm, X noticed the IV line that ran from her arm up to a bag on the pole. The nurse had commented on the way to the room that she had been given a mild sedative to help her sleep because she had nightmares last night that caused her to wake up screaming. 

 “Why don’t you get some sleep? I think the medicine they’re giving you is starting to catch up. We can talk later, after you get some sleep.”

 “So you’re coming back?” Arianna asked, and X could detect the faint glimmer of hope in her eyes. 

 “If you want me to.” X said and Arianna’s nod made X realize that Arianna trusted him; it was something he didn’t feel he deserved.

 Getting up from the edge of the bed, he took one last look at Arianna before turningand leaving the room. X was almost in a daze as he heading down the hall way to the lobby. Quietly he left the hospital and walked to where his car was parked. 

 Once he reached his car, he climbed into the driver’s seat and waited. He leaned over and rested his forehead on the steering wheel and closed his eyes; it felt like a lead weight settled in his stomach as his mind finally accepted who Arianna was. Somehow his heart had known all along, but his brain couldn’t wrap itself around the idea that he knew who Arianna is. 

 Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, X started his car and put it in gear. With a final sigh, X pulls his car out of it’s parking space. 

 

Back at CIB headquarters, X sits uneasily at his desk. Minx watches him from across the room before she makes her approach. 

 "X, the lab just sent these reports back. I think you'd want to see these.” Minx said quietly as she hands him the file. As she waits, X opens the file and scans though it quickly. “We’ve also been running her description through the database. Either the girl doesn’t have any family or they just haven’t reported her missing.”

 The slight stiffening in X’s shoulders couldn’t be ignored when Minx motioned that the girl might not have a family. 

 “Is something wrong?” She was beginning to get a little worried about him. Ever since they had left the hospital yesterday, he had been restless. Never before had she seen Racer X wound so tightly. He was like a rubber band that was about to snap.

 “I just came from the hospital. I know who she is…” X said; his voice barely a whisper. 


	3. Chapter 3

_ “ _ _ I just came from the hospital. I know who she is…” X said; his voice barely a whisper. _

 X’s confession was shocking to say the least. Minx's eyes widened, the unspoken question, prompted him to continue.

 “Her name is Arianna Montgomery. She’s older than what you guessed; she’s actually ten years old. The bone deformity is a birth defect; although, I’m not sure if it affects her walking. Her mother’s name is, or maybe was, Vanessa Montgomery. 

 “Did you know Vanessa?” Minx asked quietly, there was obviously more to the story than what X was letting on. 

 “I’ll put it this way, _Rex Racer_ did.” X said, carefully emphasizing his former name.

 “Do you know anything about Arianna’s father? Maybe we might be able to locate him?” 

 “Minx, Arianna’s father is…” X started to respond, but was cut off by David coming into the office.  

 “Minx, X, I need to see the two of you in my office.” X’s stomach tightens nervously, as he wonders if David has found any new information about Arianna. 

 “The DA has set a meeting with later this afternoon; in regard to the bust yesterday. I think it would help our case if we could present a more complete list of charges rather than just the warrants. So I need the two of you to go to the hospital, and see if you can’t get something from the girl as far as who she is or what her connection to Cobb is.”

 Minx glanced at X to see if he was going to say anything about him already knowing who the girl is. But all she saw was the same blank expression that X would use when he had nothing to say.  

 X didn’t say anything as he followed Minx out of the office to her desk so she could get her purse and the small recorder out of her desk. Once she had gotten her things, X lead the way to the elevator to go down to the parking garage under the building. Walking to X street car they climb in and X begins the drive to the hospital. 

 “Do you want to talk about it?” Minx asked as they drove to the hospital. 

 “Talk about what?”

 “You know what. You’ve been as jumpy as a boxer in the ring since yesterday. David asked us to interview Arianna, specifically asking for any clues to her identity, and you just stood there; you didn’t say anything about knowing who she is. And now you act like you would rather sell the Shooting Star, than do this interview.  So are you going to just tell me what’s going on, or do I have to keep questioning you until you finally crack.” 

 X turned the car down a side street, apparently taking the long way. Without warning he suddenly pulled the car over and put it into park.  X continues to stare out the windshield for a few moments before he takes a deep breath and says: 

“You asked me earlier if I knew anything about Arianna’s father; I do. That’s part of the problem. I do know who he is. But it’s not going to help Arianna any, since officially his identity can never be revealed; and what I'm about to say can never leave this car.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Her father is legally dead.” X’s voice is blunt, but Minx picks up on the emotions underlying it.  “Minx, Arianna’s full name is Arianna Nicole Montgomery- _Racer_. Vanessa and I decided to have it placed on her birth certificate that way. But after that, Racer was immediately dropped from her name so people like Beneli wouldn’t be able to find her. Arianna might not even know what her full name is; I don’t know if Vanessa ever told her or not.”

 “But that means Arianna does have family.” Minx said as she laid a hand on X’s arm. “Why wouldn’t any of them report her missing; I can’t imagine the Racers…” 

 “They don’t know about Arianna.” X said cutting off Minx’s question. X was still staring strait out the window so he didn’t see Minx’s eyebrow rise in the silent question. It didn’t matter though as X answered it anyways. 

 “Vanessa’s father didn’t allow her to date, but we had began to fall in love our senior year of high school. So in order to see each other, we would go out to a place out in the mountains outside the city. It was a place where Vanessa would often set her telescope; I would meet her there and we would have the night to ourselves. I never told my family, because we never wanted Vanessa’s father to find out about our relationship **.** ” X paused as he seemed to be searching for the right words to say. 

“When I left home, Vanessa had been able to move out on her own. And even though it was dangerous we continued to see each other. By that time though, we had perfected the art of sneaking around to be together. The necklace Arianna wears, I gave that to Vanessa the last time I saw her. I don’t know how Arianna got it, but I have the feeling Arianna wouldn’t be wearing it if Vanessa is still alive.” X said his voice thick with emotion. 

 “The last time I saw Arianna, she was two months old; it was right after the Casa Cristo. When I left, I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t see my daughter again. Now imagine my shock when I find her in the position she was in.”  With every word, X’s voice becomes more and more hoarse, as he seems to be losing the battle with his emotions.

 “A part of me wants to know exactly what happened to lead her to where she is; if her mother is still alive; and if she isn’t: what happened to her. And a part of me doesn’t what to know. Knowing that it will be too hard to deal with the fact that: because I wasn’t there for her, she was hurt in ways I don’t even want to think about; and fears anyone that she comes in contact with.” 

 “It’s ok, we’ll get through this.” Minx said as she moved her hand to X’s shoulder.  As she rubbed his shoulder, Minx thought about what X had just said. In all the years of knowing Racer X, Minx had never seen the pain he carried inside him. 

  X finally looked over at Minx. It was the first time either of them had mentioned them being together on a personal level. Surprisingly, it did make him feel slightly better that Minx didn't seem to care that he had a ten year old daughter that he had never mentioned.  X decided then that Minx was right; they would get through this, he just wasn't sure how yet.

 With a curt nod, X put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb and down the street. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

When X and Minx reached the hospital they show their badges to the nurse on duty at the front desk. X silently gives thanks that it wasn’t the same nurse as before as he leads the way towards Arianna’sroom.  When they entered Arianna’s room, X thought she was still asleep; due to the fact she was laying completely motionless with her eyes closed. However at the sound of the door opening, Arianna seemed to snap to attention; fully alert and ready for what ever was going to happen next. 

 Upon seeing who was entering the room, Arianna relaxed slightly. However Arianna seemed to eye Minx with a mixture of recognition and curiosity.  What caught Minx’s attention was Arianna’s eyes, as it was the first time she was actually able to get a good look at them. Minx had seen photos of what Rex Racer looked like before the surgery, Arianna’s eyes were exactly like Rex’s. Maybe this time she was sub-consciously looking for any resembleance between the news photos she had seen of Rex and Arianna. But it is unnerving, none the less. Standing there, looking into the eyes of a dead man while the dead man is standing beside her. 

 “I told you I’d be back. But I didn’t think it would be this soon.” X said as they crossed the room towards Arianna’s bed. “But then again, I guess I’m just a sucker for a pretty girl.” 

 Arianna gave a little quirk of a smile, Minx’s breath caught in her throat. “ _My God, she even smiles just like Rex.”_  No wonder X was able to recognize her; Arianna’s eyes and smile were like looking in a mirror of his former self. 

 Once Minx got over the intial shock of seeing the resembleances between father and daughter, she realized X had been talking to Arianna.

“Arianna, this is my partner Minx. Do you remember her from yesterday?” X asked. It was slightly ackward to be intoducing his daugher to the one woman who could capture his interest since her mother. 

Fortunately, X was saved from prolonging the awkward moment by Arianna’s nod.  

“It’s nice to meet you, Arianna.” Minx said with a gentle smile; knowing this interview will go a lot easier if Arianna was comfortable with both of them, not just X. “We need to ask you some questions, is that alright?” 

 “About Mr. Cobb, right?” Arianna asked, an unidentifiable expression on her face. _“So, she’s as intuative as her father.”_ Minx noted to herself with a hidden smile. Like Father, like Daughter. 

 “That’s right. Why don’t you start by telling us your full name, Arianna?”

 Arianna paused for a split second too long before answering: “Arianna NicoleMontgomery.”

“Do you know the names of your parents?” 

 Once again, Arianna paused in her answer before saying: “My mother’s name’s Vanessa Montgomery.” 

“How did you come to live with Rafer Cobb?” Minx asked, still wondering if Arianna could possibly have been kidnapped and Vanessa still looking for her. 

 With a shrug of the shoulders, Arianna answered: “He’s been around for as long as I can remember.” 

Then with surprisingly little prompting, Arianna started to tell them in about some of the mental and physical abusethat she has had to endure during her life with Rafer Cobb.  She told them how Cobb locked her in closets, or any room that locked for that matter, for days at a time without food or water as punishment. However she was very reluctant to talk about the reasonsbehind the punishments.

 “Where was your mother when all this was happening?” Minx asked. 

 At that comment, a cold fire burned in Arianna’s eyes. It was almost startling howquickly it had come to the surface.  Minx had seen that type of reaction only a few times before, mainly because the only person that she knew that was capable of the speed of that reaction had his eyes covered most of the time. 

 “My mom died trying to protect me. Mr. Cobb killed her because she tried to stop him from hurting me. After that…” Arianna allowed her sentence to trail off; the implication of what she was saying, however; hung in the air like an ominous fog. 

 “What about your father, do you know where he is?”  X asked before he could stop himself. A part of him needed to see Arianna’s reaction to the question; while another part didn’t want to know what his daughter thought of him. 

 Arianna seemed to debate an answer for only a split second before turning her head away clearly refusing to answer thequestion.  In fact, she refused to even acknowlage their presence. Arianna was appearently as good as her father at keeping her feelings buried deep inside. For her pretty face held absolutely no traces of any emotion.

 Realizing that they would not be able to get anymore answers right now, Minx and X left the room and made their way back to the car. 

 

"Whatdo you plan to do?" Minx asked as they drove back to CIB headquarters; knowing full well that X was already trying to form a plan to deal with the situation. 

 “I'm not sure yet. But I do know, I really only have three options.” X said, “One: I keep Arianna, and actually be the father I should have been ten years ago. Two: Allow the Racers to know about Arianna and let them raise her. Or three: turn her over to social services, where Arianna would probably be placed in foster homes until her eighteenth birthday.” 

 Then added in a tone Minx had never heard from him before; it was one of defeat. “And given the way she reacted to questions about her father, it is looking more and more likely for option three.”

 “I wouldn’t be too sure of that. She might not know anything about who her father is; I wouldn’t rule out the option of telling her just yet.” Minx gently argued, knowing that X was blaming himself for what had happened to Arianna.

 “Minx, you heard what she’s had to live through; and saw her reactions to any mention to her father. She probably hates my guts right now; and who knows how she would react to me if she actually knew the truth. Not that I could blame her for it.” 

 Falling silent, X continued to brood over what he had heard about the life Arianna has had. Rafer Cobb had done everything he possibly could to make Arianna feel lower than life by kicking her across the ground like scum. At that moment, X vowed to himself: he wouldn’t rest until he extracts a pound of flesh from Rafer Cobb; for hell that Cobb had put Arianna through. X also silently vowed to his daughter that he would do everything in his power to make sure she would be properly taken care of.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I know in the movie Rex had brown eyes, but I'm working off of the fact that Scott Porter actually has blue eyes and wore contacts for the movie. Why? Just take a good look at a photo of Scott Porter without the contacts; and you'll have all the answers you need.


	5. chapter 5

Ethan sat at his desk as he watched Minx and X leave David’s office. They walked over to Minx’s desk and Minx gathered her purse and a small recorder from her desk. A few moments after X and Minx left the office, David came out of his office. 

 

“Ethan, Metro sent some of the evidence gathered yesterday to our lab…” David let his sentence trail off as they both knew what he was saying.

 

During his three years serving with the Metro Police department, he had gained the reputation of being one of the best forensic investigators in the department. If there was any evidence to be discovered; then it would be Ethan that would be able to find it, and have it processed for the DA. 

 

Getting up from his chair, Ethan headed to the crime lab downstairs. On the lab table, he found several brown bags that contained evidence collected from the crime scene. 

 

Ethan opens a drawer in the table and removes a pair of rubber gloves. Rolling up his sleeves, Ethan puts on his gloves so he won’t contaminate any of the evidence. 

 

Opening the first bag, Ethan removes the plastic bags that contain the clothing that the girl was wearing when she was found. Going over to the UV booth, Ethan places sterile paper down on the bottom. 

 

Opening the plastic bag that contained the shirt, Ethan spreads it on the paper. Putting on his orange glasses, Ethan flips the switch to turn on the UV light as well as dim the lights in the lab. Once the light adjusts, any stains on the shirt that is from bodily fuids will illuminate. 

 

Right away, Ethan notices some dark stains near the collar if the shirt. Picking up a package of sterile cotton swabs, Ethan opens it and begins to collect a sample of the stain for analysis. 

 

Gently turning the shirt, Ethan notices several stains on the back of the shirt. It was a stain pattern that Ethan had seen only once before. At that moment it took everything Ethan had to keep himself to physically reeling back. There was only one thing that could form that type of stain; and the reality of the situation hits him hard. 

 

After several deep breaths, Ethan digs up all his professionalism. Taking a package that has a sterile rasor in it, Ethan begins to scrape the back of the shirt to get a sample of the thread, placing it in a sterile dish for further testing. 

 

Removing the glasses, Ethan turned off the UV light, and removed the shirt, folded it, and put it back into the plastic bag. Ethan then removes the paper from the bottom of the booth and folds it and placed it in a plastic folder to put it in the case file, in case of the chance of evidence transfering to it. 

 

Ethan places a new piece of paper on the bottom of the booth. Taking the bag that contained the girl’ pants, Ethan gently removes them and puts the pants on the paper. Turning on the UV lights again. When he puts on his orange glasses again, nothing could prepare him for what he saw.  

 

The pants are almost completely glowing under the UV light. 

 

Repeating the process he had done on the shirt, Ethan begins to collect samples. This time; however, he also cut small squares out of the fabric for other tests and also to be able to be presurved for an independent lab analysis, in case the defense would happen to demand it. 

 

It would take a few hours for him to complete the tests to determain what the stains were from. Although, Ethan was pretty sure he already knew what they were. Quietly Ethan starts running the tests on the material samples; inwardly dreading what he would find. 

 

 

 

 X hadn’t spoken another word since his and Minx’s conversation as they left the hospital. After several failed attempts to draw him into conversation, Minx had finally given up. 

 

In the quiet of the drive to headquarters, Minx was able to reflect on the information X had trusted her with. For as close as the team is, they each had their own hidden past that they shared with no one. X had definitely been no exception to this; as his true identity was known to only a precious few. 

 

And now only she knew the fact that Rex Racer was not just a son and brother; he had been a father as well. His daughter that had been thought to have been lost to him, but fate had brought them back together. Ironicly, Rex had been the one to save her from danger; instead of bringing it to her. 

 

Minx felt her heart go out to her partner, as well as his little girl in the hospital. They had a long road to travel if they wanted to be together; one that X seemingly thinks as impossible.  But Minx hopes that X will get a chance to tell Arianna who he is; and Arianna giving him a second chance. 

 

Minx was lost in her own thoughts when she realized X was turning into a parking space in the parking garage at headquarters. After X turned off the car; he got out and seemed to linger at the front of the car.

 

“You know you’ve got to face it at some time.” Minx called out as she seemed to read his thoughts. She had known him too long to not recognize the growing signs of discomfort about the situation. To where even if she hadn’t been told exactly why he was avoiding the situation; Minx would have known that he wasn’t comfortable working this case. 

 

Still not saying anything, X moved toward the elevator to go upstairs. 

 

When they reached the office, they were meet by the sight of Frank and Jack working hard at their desks. Before they even had a chance to say anything to either of them, David called X and Minx into his office. 

 

Upon closing the door, David turned to them and said; “We’ve got problems on the Cobb case. It seems the Rafer Cobb was able to escape from prison a few hours ago; after he killed three guards. We’re doing everything we can to trace him, but so far we haven’t gotten any luck. Did you get any information about the girl?”

 

Minx quickly tells David about what Arianna had said during the interview; but thankfully she leaves out any of the information on Arianna’s father.

 

“You see the larger problem now, of course.” The Inspector spread his fingers, not bothering to lay out the logic they all knew.

  
X’s frown had grown deep-furrowed. “Cobb knows that Arianna is a threat to him.”

 

“Exactly. Cobb isn’t going to let Arianna testify to the charges against him. With the evidence she has already provided is enough to put Cobb in jail for a good portion of his life. And if Arianna is able to firmly prove anything she has said; then it would be enough for Cobb to be put behind bars for the rest of his life.”

 

 _ ‘Or a first class seat in the electric chair; if I have a say in it _ .’ X thought to himself; before realizing David was still talking. 

 

“…For whatever reason, Arianna trusts the two of you. So that’s why I’m assigning the two of you to protect her.”


	6. Chapter 6

That night X couldn’t sleep. Every time he tried, something Arianna had said in the hospital forced him awake. After pacing his apartment for a while like a caged animal, he wandered out onto the balcony. Settling into his chair, Rex closed his eye as he allows the memories he had been fighting for ten years to surface.

 _Seventeen year old Rex Racer steered the Mach 5 around the mountain road. His driving style reflected the aggravation he was feeling. Try as he might, Rex knew he just wasn’t paying the attention he should to what was happening around him -- he just couldn't focus._

 _He had something else he just couldn’t seem to get off his mind. And for once racing wasn’t the top thing on his mind. His social life was what he was thinking about._

 _True, he was popular in his high school. He really never had a problem when it came to girls; in fact there were many girls in his school that found him highly attractive. But lately, he found that he was becoming more and more frustrated with the constant attention; and the fact that, for the most part, he was just a status symbol to them._

 _On that thought, Rex slammed the clutch and threw it into a lower gear as the Mach 5 fishtailed as he took a curve too fast. He brought it straight again as he shifted again. He knew he should slow down, but at the moment he was too frustrated to care._

 _Most of the girls, he found, he had nothing in common with. They were more worried about getting grease on them or breaking a nail; than supporting his racing. And none of them could even tell the difference between a carburetor and a crankshaft._

 _But it wasn’t just that, none of them had even the slightest knowledge of the other side of him; the side that he kept buried under the racing obsessed, super popular, rebel without a cause attitude. It was the side of him that even Rex didn’t quite understand, but he felt for some reason that the girl that was meant for him would be the one to be able to pull the secret side of his life to the surface._

 _As he was driving, some movement on the side of the road caught his attention; causing him to pull the car over to the side of the road. After he dimmed his headlights, a large figure emerged from the trees. It took a few moments to realize that it was someone riding a horse._

 _There were still a few farms out in the mountains; most of which had livestock. Rex had always thought that the farmers were always in denial of the times; they were surrounded by a bustling city, islands of simplicity in the mist of power and industry._

 _As the horse moved into the path of the headlights, it was then that Rex actually recognized the rider. It was Vanessa Montgomery, probably the only girl in his high school that didn’t throw herself at him hoping to get a date. In fact it was a widely known fact at school that Vanessa didn’t date at all. The reasons behind that were debatable, as possible explanations were highly circulated rumors._

 _Once it registered in Rex’s brain, who the rider was he put the Mach 5 into park and got out of the car. Vanessa regarded him with an unreadable expression as he approached her._

 _"What are you doing out here?" Rex asked, brows crinkled in confusion. It was dangerous out in the mountains, especially at night._

 _"I could ask you the same question." Vanessa countered._

 _"Do you normally ride by yourself in the mountains at night?"_

 _"Maybe." Vanessa responded with a shrug of the shoulders. She nudged her horse forward and crossed the road as if it was no big deal that the most sought after guy at school was only a few feet away._

 _"Where are you going?" Rex called after her before he could stop himself. For reasons he couldn’t explain his interests were roused; and he found himself unable to turn away from Vanessa._

 _Vanessa had produced a flash light from somewhere Rex didn’t see and shined it in his direction; and responded over her shoulder: "Come and see."_

 _When Vanessa turned her flashlight back to where she was riding, Rex saw that there was a narrow dirt road leading off of the main road. Getting into the Mach 5, Rex kept his headlights dimmed as he followed Vanessa down the trail._

 _Soon they came to a clearing before a drop off into the valley below. Rex looks around and notices a small storage shed a few feet away. By the time Rex finishes surveying the area, Vanessa has already dismounted her horse and attached a tie rope to the horse’s halter. She then moves to the shed and unbars the door. She pulls out several pieces of an odd-looking home-made cylindrical device. She walked over to a spot in the clearing and began to set them up._

 _"What’s that?" Rex asked before he could stop himself._

 _"This is my telescope, I built it when I was twelve."_

 _Rex looks slightly impressed with her ingenuity."Why come all the way out here to use it?"_

 _"Cuz it's dark and quiet and you can see into another world."_

 _Rex pulls a deck of cards from his jacket pocket. They sit and he starts to shuffle; not too well. Vanessa takes the deck from him and shuffles like a card shark._

 _As they sit, Rex notices a large bruise on her leg. Vanessa just brushes the hem of her shorts down. Rex decides not to say anything about it now, but he made a note to ask laterThey spent hours just talking and playing cards as they star gazed. He noticed Vanessa shiver slightly; before Rex could even realize what he was doing he had placed his arm around Vanessa’s shoulder and pulled her closer. Vanessa pushed him away as she made a hasty retreat._

 _"Hey, what’s wrong?" Rex asked, puzzled by her sudden rejection._

 _"I have to go. It’s getting late, and I told my father I wouldn’t be out too late." Vanessa said as she begins to put away her telescope._

 _"I’ll give you a ride, You’ll be home before your father even realizes that it’s late." Rex said wondering about Vanessa suddenly wanting to leave._

 _"No! I’ll get myself home. I don’t want my father to know I was with anyone. He’s not the nicest person when he’s upset."_

 _"Why would he be upset?" Rex asked. Something just wasn’t adding up with Vanessa’s actions._

 _"I’m not allowed to date." Vanessa said as she mounted her horse and prepared to ride away.It had taken a lot of convincing, but Vanessa slowly began to allow Rex to be with her. Soon the two were unofficially dating, and by the time they had graduated and Rex began racing full time; they had decided to take the next step in their relationship._

 

Opening his eyes, X stares at the night sky. As he looks at the stars, he remembers another night spent under the stars so long ago…

 __

 _Rex could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he headed toward the rendezvous point. Tonight he was on an emotional high that could rival any drug._

 _He had just set a new course record at Thunderhead, shattering the old record by close to a whole minute. A feat that had thought to have been impossible, as the old record had stood for nearly eight years; with no one ever coming close to beating it._

 _Pulling the Mach 5 to a stop next to the shelter; getting out of the car, Rex sees Vanessa’s horse standing a few feet away._

 _"Hey stranger." A voice calls out behind him. Turning Rex sees Vanessa standing in the door way of the shelter._

 _"Hey yourself." Rex responded as he took in Vanessa’s appearance. She was wearing a red dress that accentuated her toned frame. Her tawny blonde locks were held away from her face by way of a clip, but the back fell free to her mid-back. In short, she took Rex’s breath away._

 _"So what’d you tell your father?" Rex asked, once he remembered how to put a coherent sentence together._

 _"The truth; I just left you out of it. What about you, what’d you tell your parents?" Vanessa asked knowing Rex had decided to keep their relationship a secret even from his own family._

 _"I’m at a victory party; afterwards I crashed on a friend’s couch and they didn’t feel like waking me."_

 _"How was the race?" Vanessa asked, as they entered the makeshift shelter. There were several candles lit in the small space; a cot just big enough for the two of them set up against one wall._

 _"I won."_

 _"I know; I heard the race on the radio."_

 _"I wish you could’ve been there. I would have loved to have you on my arm as I accepted my trophy." Rex said as a mischievous smile tugged at his lips. "After I scooped you up in my arms and kissed you at the podium with a million flashbulbs going off."_

 _On that thought, Rex closed the distance between his mouth and hers. Rex could feel Vanessa move her mouth in rhythm with his. His mouth slowly easing Vanessa’s open, as she parted her lips, allowing his tongue slip inside._

 _After they parted, Rex looked Vanessa in the eye and asked: "Are you sure you want to do this?" He wanted to give Vanessa enough the opportunity to change her mind. As Rex never wanted to be one of those jerk boyfriends that only want to have sex._

 _Vanessa’s smile is almost his undoing as she nods her head. Rex bends his neck and captures Vanessa’s lips again. Vanessa’s hands sliding around and settling on the base of his spine, pulling his black shirt up to allow her access to bare skin._

 _Rex runs his hands through Vanessa’s hair, until he reached the clips that held them back. He quickly opens the clasp; allowing Vanessa’s tawny blonde locks to fall lose over her shoulders. The dim light of the candles catches her hair turning it the color of honey in a jar._

 _Rex’s arms slip around Vanessa’s waist and his hands find the almost hidden zipper of Vanessa’s dress. Nervously he slides the zipper down, gaining access to Vanessa’s bare back._

 _Vanessa’s hands moved around his waist to pull his shirt fully free; bunching up in her grasp as she yanks it up towards his head. Rex leans forward and put his arms up over his head for the second it takes for her to strip the fabric free._

 _Gently Rex pushes the straps that held Vanessa’s dress up off her shoulders; allowing the dress to fall to the ground, revealing her red, lacy bra and underwear._

 __

 _Vanessa seems to pause at removing his belt, Rex gave her a lopsided smile of reassurance and Vanessa removed his belt and unfastened his jeans. His jeans slipped down to the floor and he kicked off his shoes to allow him to step out of his jeans, leaving only his black boxer shorts to cover him._

 _Then Rex lifts Vanessa up in his muscular arms and places her on the cot. Almost on top of Vanessa, Rex starts at Vanessa’s neck pressing gentle kisses on her skin. Before working his way down to trace the lace of Vanessa’s bra, working his way down getting more aggressive as he goes. Soon, his boxers and Vanessa’s underwear drift southward, becoming a tangled lump at their feet._

 _Slowly instinct took over, as they consummated their relationship over and over. Rex tuned his body rhythm to Vanessa’s as they told him exactly what she wanted. Other times Vanessa tuned herself to Rex as she did everything he wanted from her._

 _Finally exhaustion won its battle and the young couple fell asleep in each others arms._

 _The next morning when he returned home his parents had surprisingly believed his lie. Although, his mom did comment that there was something different about him. Thankfully, she didn’t suspect that her oldest son had lost his virginity the night before. Or at least Rex hoped she didn’t._

 __

 _  
_

It was almost four weeks later when the day happened that forever changed his life…

  _Rex drove down the deserted mountain road almost in a rage. He had been targeted by a fixer known as Black-Jack Benelli for the last month. Finally, it had reached a point that it went from idle threats to actual attempts, not only his life; but the lives of his father and brother._

 _The bomb that the fixer had given to his younger brother had come within seconds of exploding in the garage. At that thought a shiver went down Rex’s spine as he didn’t want to think about what might have happened if he had been even a few seconds slower in getting the bomb out of the garage._

 _When he got to the point, he was surprised to see Vanessa was there, sitting on the ground near the drop-off. She was so lost in her thoughts that when Rex approached her she jumped._

 _"Sorry if I sacred you," Rex said as he sat down beside her._

 _"That’s ok, I was just thinking. You ok?" Vanessa asked noticing the angry expression on Rex’s face._

 _"Not really." Rex answered, before proceeding to tell Vanessa about the bomb._

 _Rex had just finished his ranting about the bomb; when he noticed Vanessa’s silence as she sat next to him looking out over the valley below._

 _"Hey, what’s wrong?" Rex asked, he was certain that something more was wrong than just the bomb._

 _"Rex, I’m pregnant." Rex could hear that Vanessa was fighting tears._

 _"Are you sure?" Rex asked, he was finding it hard to process this turn of events; and felt that his world was crashing down around him._

 _"Yeah, I took two tests. Both positive." Vanessa whispered, eyes low._

 _"But we were only together one night." Rex argued, still trying to process the information.  
_

 _"That's all it took."  
_

 _"And I used a condom. Lots of them." He was rationalizing the situation now, but knowing he was arguing a lost battle.  
_

 _"Well, one didn't work."  
_

 _"But that's its job! Its whole purpose in life is... to work." Rex wanted to just run from everything at that moment._

 _Suddenly, Rex got up and walked over to the Mach 5. He never was sure if Vanessa said anything more; if she did, he didn’t hear it. He climbed in the car and started the motor. Putting it in reverse, he backed up and turned around then gunned it down the trail and down the road._

 _He drove around for a few hours then his mind caught up to him, and he finally began to process everything that had happened to him that day. When he got to his house, he went into the living room and simply stretched out on the couch. As he stared up at the ceiling his mind, finally came to grips with what happened today._

 _He felt bad about running out on Vanessa earlier, and then worried that she would never speak to him again. He was about to go to Vanessa’s house to apologize when the doorbell rang._

 _Speedy happened to be in the kitchen so he ran to the front door; calling out that he’d answer the door as he went. Rex couldn’t make out the words that were said, but he recognized the visitor’s voice loud and clear._

 _Getting up from the couch, Rex move into the entry way. Sure enough Vanessa is standing on the front step talking briefly with Speed._

 _"Vanessa?" Rex says questioningly as he wonders why Vanessa would be at his house._

 _"Can we talk?" Vanessa asks getting directly to the point._

 _"Yeah." Turning to Speed, Rex said, "If Mom or Pops asks, tell them I went for a run."_

 _"Can I go too?" Speed asks as he always tries to go along with Rex on one of his runs._

 _"Not this time, Speedy" Rex answers as he steps out the front door, pulling it closed behind him._

 _"So what do you want to talk about?" Rex asks as they begin walking down the sidewalk._

 _"As I was trying to tell you earlier, I’ve got to get a place of my own. I can’t take living with my father any more. Especially, since he’d find out sooner or later that I’m pregnant. I’m not going to stick around to find out what he will do when he learns about this."_

 _"Do what you have to do," Rex told her. Vanessa paused for a moment before reaching into the pocket of her jeans and pulling out a single key._

 _"I already have. This key is to my new apartment. You can have this if you want it. But I’m not going to force this, or anything else that has to do with the baby on you. The only thing I ask is that if you do accept this key, that you do not hold any resentment towards me or the baby for anything that happens as a result of being a part of our lives."_

 _Rex thought about the offer she had just put down on the table. She was allowing him to choose whether or not he would be a part of his child’s life; only asking for him to not be resentful toward her or their child. It was at that moment that he realized that he was already acknowledging that the baby developing inside Vanessa right now was his child and that he was going to be a father._

 _Reaching out his hand, Rex takes the key from Vanessa’s hand._

 _"So, you’re ok with this?" Vanessa asked; she had been worried about the way Rex had taken off earlier._

 _"Well, after I got over the initial urge to jump off a bridge… I-I thought that this could actually work out. I know neither of us planned on this, but I don’t want you to have to face this alone. After all, I’m just as much to blame for this as you are."_

 _"That’s the best thing you’ve said all day." Vanessa said, a small smile on her face. Rex put his arm around her shoulder and drew Vanessa close to his side as they continued walking._

 _"So how are you feeling?" Rex asked as they began the walk back to his house._

 _"It’s actually kinda weird. I mean I can already feel myself changing. I’ve got cramps and I’m tired all the time. It really sucks."_

 _"But it makes sense, there’s a baby in there; a little person’s in there. Ten little fingers, ten little toes; a little heartbeat. He’s got his eyes all scrunched up, and he’s in a ball. Maybe he’s gotta wee-wee, maybe he doesn’t." Rex said, succeeding in getting Vanessa to laugh._

 _Turning serious he reached over and held Vanessa’s hand. As he rubbed circles onto the back of it, he promised: "Vanessa, I promise you, as much as I can, I’ll be there for you, and for our baby. As I said, I don’t want you to have to face this alone."_

 

 

Tears burned in his eyes as he thought about the last time he had seen Vanessa and Arianna…

  _After the crash, Rex had convinced the Inspector to allow him a week to return to Vanessa’s apartment, stating that he had some unfinished business to attend to. The Inspector had been doubtful, but Rex assured him that he would be out of sight._

 _Rex never said that his business was to say goodbye to his daughter and the woman he had planned to marry officially once he was able to get out from under Benelli’s thumb._

 _Earlier that day he had attended his own funeral from a distance. He had watched as his family grieved for what they thought was their lost son and brother. It had been the first time he had seen his family in almost a year._

 _His parents looked as if they had aged several years; Speed was uncharacteristically still as he stood in front of their mother, her arm wrapped around his shoulders. Rex recognized the little girl that was standing next to Speed as the same one that Speed had brought home that fateful day that had so permanently changed his life._

 _He and Vanessa had discussed the options they had for almost the entire week. They could tell the Inspector the truth, and be able to start a new life together. But a life spent in hiding was not what either of them wanted for Arianna._

 _They had discussed the possibility of Vanessa contacting the Racer family, and tell a modified version of how they had dated and Arianna’s birth. But the thought of what Pops’ reaction to the news would possibly be, made Rex veto the suggestion immediately._

 _The other option that Vanessa suggested was that: she moves to be with her family in a small town in Texas. Vanessa’s Grandparents had had virtually no contact with Vanessa’s father since her mother died when Vanessa was ten; so Vanessa and Arianna would still be away from Vanessa’s father. Rex had finally agreed that it would be better if Arianna could possibly be raised with a family; away from the crime of San Francisco._

 _At the end of the week, Rex found himself sitting on the hood of Vanessa’s car, holding Arianna closely; as Vanessa loaded the last of the bags into the trunk of her car. Allowing Rex a few more final moments with Arianna before it was time to leave._

 _He gazed at his daughter intensely, memorizing her face, committing to memory the gentle curve of her jaw, the intensive blue-eyed gaze, the way the light caught her tawny blonde locks. He took it all in, as the full realization hit; he never will hold his little girl in his arms again._

 _He would never see her grow up; never tuck her into bed after reading her a story about princesses, and the handsome prince coming to the rescue; never walk hand in hand with her to school. He wouldn’t be able to take her for a ride at Thunderhead, while teaching the proper timing of the jump...‘As long as she’ll be safe, it doesn’t matter if I see her or not.’ Rex argued with himself; trying to take what little comfort he could in the situation._

 _The sound of Vanessa closing the trunk lid seemed to echo a million times, as it meant that she had finished loading the car. Rex had to wonder if that was what a condemned man heard when the gas chamber door goes shut behind him. Rex looks up to see Vanessa standing next to him._

 _"Time to go; I want to get as far as I can while Arianna is still pretty calm."_

 _Rex gently places a kiss on Arianna’s temple, before running his fingers lightly over her forehead. It was his special way of calming Arianna down when she was fussy. For some reason the delicate touch over her forehead calmed her down every time._

 _"When you get to your grandparents house, tell your grandma that Arianna get her beautiful looks from you; but her perfect manners from me." Rex said as he tries desperately to keep his tone light. As if Vanessa and Arianna were just going for a visit and would be back in a few weeks; and they would be together again._

 _Rex gets up from his place on the hood of Vanessa’s car, and moves around to the back door that Vanessa has left open. Gently he placed Arianna in her car seat, making sure that the safety harness was properly in place and securely fastened. Backing out of the car, Rex turns to find Vanessa leaning slightly on the door frame._

 _"I got something for you. I don’t want you to forget about me." Rex said as he pulled a gold necklace out of his pocket. "I thought the star was appropriate for us; especially since we’re built our entire relationship under the stars."_

 _Vanessa pulls her hair to one side as she allows Rex to fasten the chain around her neck._

 _"You better get going; you know I don’t like you on the road after it gets dark." Rex said as he opened Vanessa’s door for her._

 __

 _Rex leaned down and he and Vanessa shared a passionate kiss. When they finally broke apart, they just stayed in the embrace for a while._

 _"I’m scared." Vanessa whispered into his shoulder. Rex knew she was nervous to re-establish contact with her family; as she had severed all contact with her family since finding out that she was pregnant with Arianna._

 _"Don’t be scared." Rex said although he knew how he would feel if he was returning home to introduce his family to his daughter for the first time. "You know your grandparents will have a great time with_

 _Arianna. And you can raise her to be a little Texas cowgirl. Although, don’t be surprised if the first time Arianna sees a race that her blue eyes don’t light up; and she says that she wants to race one day."_

 _"We’ll see what happens…" Vanessa gave him one last hug before climbing into her car._

 _"I love you. I love you both." Rex called out as Vanessa started her car._

 _As Vanessa drove away, Rex lost the battle with his emotions as a few hot, salty tears fell down his cheeks. He had never felt lower in his whole life as he watched Vanessa’s tail lights fade into the distance._

 _Rex knew then and there, that he had broken his vow. Benelli may lose the battle with justice; but not before he had succeeded in killing Rex Racer._

 _As Vanessa’s taillights disappeared, he turned around and surveyed the area. When he was satisfied that no one is around, Racer X then headed towards the car that the inspector had provided. Getting into the car, he put on a pair of dark sunglasses. Starting the car, Racer X paused for a few moments as if trying to decide were to go._

 _Then putting the car in gear, he drove away with the resolve to put an end to his old life. Soon there would be nothing left to distinguish him as Rex Racer. And even though it would be hard to forget his past; he knew it would be the only way to preserve his sanity._

  
X drew a long, slow breath into his tightened throat. Those memories were his past, and they should stay that way. Rex Racer doesn’t exist anymore. He died at Casa Cristo.

But deep down, X knew the memories from so long ago would keep coming back. After all, starting tomorrow, he would be responsible to protect his daughter from things she should have never been exposed to in the first place. But now he had a second chance to try to protect his daughter, if only he could figure out the best way to do it.


	7. Chapter 7

**************************** 

The next morning X awoke to the sounds of the city that were louder than what they should be. Opening his eyes, X discovers that he fell asleep in his chair on the balcony last night. 

Glancing down he notices a flannel blanket covering him. This confuses him more as the blanket normally lies on the back of the couch; and he knows he didn’t bring it out with him. So how it got outside and covering him up is a mystery to him. 

Getting up, X stretches his sore muscles and cautiously makes his way back into the apartment; in case the intruder is still there. Although his logical side argues that an enemy wouldn’t have covered him with a blanket; they would have just slit his throat in his sleep. 

Glancing around the apartment, X finds nothing out of place. Going into the kitchen, X discovers the coffee maker had been set to automatic and already making a pot of his favorite coffee; he knows he didn’t set it last night. 

It was then that X noticed a note left on the kitchen counter. Picking it up, X couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face as he read the elegant handwriting. As he read the note, he could practically hear the playful sarcasm mixed with friendly concern of the writer. 

_ Hey genius,  _

_ Next time you’re going to sleep outside; take a blanket out with you. Especially when the temperature drops as low as what it was last night.  I bet you’re stiff this morning, as that chair couldn’t be all that comfortable.  _

_ I stopped by last night; I was worried about you and the way you closed off everyone yesterday. When you didn’t answer, I let myself in. The locksmiths that made the lock on your door really need to get more creative about their configuration of the pins.   _

_ I know you’re worried about today; but don’t worry, everything will be fine. David said that he’s arranged for Arianna to be released into CIB custody this afternoon at two o’clock. He also called a status meeting for eleven. This morning I decided to get Arianna a few essential items of clothes. It will have to do until I know exactly what her size is.  _

_ See you at headquarters later,  _

_ Minx. _

Trust Minx to check on him in the middle of the night. Their relationship was a complicated one; as no one was quite sure were to classify it. They could argue like a brother and sister, they respected each other as driver and mechanic, and they were very capable to slip into the role of lovers as Miranda Lawrence and Alex Sterling. But due to a CIB policy against dating among teammates, they had decided to keep their relationship strictly platonic. 

The main reason X had never wanted to get to close to anyone was his unresolved relationships from his life as Rex Racer. It was no secret to the team that he cared about the Racers, particularly Speed; but he had never stopped caring about Arianna and Vanessa. 

But now that he had the chance to find out what happened to Arianna and Vanessa; the question is did he want to find out everything.  He knew that knowing the truth would probably only add to the feelings of guilt he was already experiencing. And even though Arianna had described the personal hell she had lived through, it seemed to X as if she was holding a lot back. 

As he prepared for this assignment, the lives of Racer X and Rex Racer collided once again. For the last ten years he had been able to keep the two separate, only slightly crossing at the track. But then the Casa Cristo incident had opened up so many scars; that he had contemplated taking a leave of absence after the race. 

David and Minx had been especially concerned about his mental state in the days leading into the Casa Cristo and whole Taejo Togokhan incident. David had even gone so far as suggesting that he talk to the department psychologists. X had rejected the notion, arguing that he was fine and that the doctors should take a long walk on a short pier. 

But this time the lives of Rex Racer and Racer X didn’t just cross; they met in an explosive, head-on crash. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone found the link between him and Arianna. X could only hope that when it happened that he had a plan of action ready to deal with it. 

******

When Minx arrived at headquarters she was surprised to not see X there already. He wasn’t one to be late for a meeting. She sat the bag she was carrying on her desk; inside it was a variety of necessity items for Arianna. 

 When Jack arrived at headquarters, he was shouldering a green duffle bag. 

“I had Leslie and Katie go through some of Katie’s old clothes that we’ve been meaning to donate to charity; looking for anything that might fit Arianna. Since Arianna didn’t seem to have any other clothes other than the ones she was wearing, I thought she might like some of Katie’s old clothes.”

“Thank you, Jack. I’m sure Arianna will appreciate them. How’s Leslie doing by the way?”

“She goes to her doctor tomorrow. Her numbers are still down, so she’s still in remission.” 

“Well; let’s hope she continues to get better.”    Minx said as she lays a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. To which Jack just nodded his head. 

“You and X get to take Arianna this afternoon?”

“Yeah; and I get the feeling this isn’t going to be an easy assignment.” Minx says almost to herself as she sits on the edge of her desk. 

“Why’s that?”

“Arianna has been through a lot in her life; I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t affected her. How’s she going to react to living with me and X?” Minx said making sure to leave out the fact that she was worried about how X would react at knowing just how much Arianna’s life had been affected by Rafer Cobb. 

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. We already know that, for whatever reason, she trusts X. And I’d bet money that it won’t take her long before she trusts you as well.”

“You really think so?”  

Before they could say anymore, David came into the office and began preparing for the status meeting. 

******

X had actually taken the morning to visit Arianna in the hospital. He felt he should talk to her about staying with him and Minx until Rafer Cobb had been properly dealt with. As much as the inspector had helped him back when he was Rex Racer, X knew first hand how David often took control of a situation; leaving anyone else involved to do their best to simply react to the situation and process everything later. 

X wanted to hear what Arianna had to say about the plan that David had already put in motion. From what he had heard about Arianna’s life, it sounded as if she had had very little control of anything that had happened to her.  In fact that was one of the main things X wanted to give to Arianna; the ability to have some control in her life. 

Following the same routine as the day before, X makes his way to Arianna’s room. David had taken the precaution of having a member of the security team posted outside Arianna’s door. Once he opened the door, he was slightly surprised to see that Arianna is awake. And judging by the look on her face, she’s deep in thought about something.  

 The expression caused X’s breath to get caught in his throat. At that moment, the features that Arianna had inherited from him didn’t matter; he saw Vanessa just how he remembered her.  

Arianna didn’t seem to notice him at first, so when he began to walk towards the bed, he noticed Arianna jump slightly when she heard his footsteps. 

“Hey kiddo, how are you doing this morning?” X asked as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. 

When Arianna doesn’t answer him, X wonders if she is still upset at him from yesterday. Deciding to coax her into talking, X begins trying to think of another topic when he notices a tray of untouched food sitting on the over the bed table.  

“I see you haven’t touched your breakfast. You’re not doing yourselfany good by not eating.” Although X could understand not wanting to eat the hospital food; from his memories of his hospital stays, the food left much to be desired. 

“I’m not hungry.” Arianna said as she looked down at the tray in front of her. X’s breath hitched in his throat when he noticed that Arianna wasn’t just not eating, but looking at her food as if it was something from outer space. 

“Your doctors said you can get outta here this afternoon; you don’t want to end up back in the hospital because you starved yourself.” X said, trying to entice her to eat. X almost expected a smart-alec retort, like the ones he had gotten from Vanessa about eating during her pregnancy. But X is surprised by Arianna’s response.  

“What’s gonna happen to me now?” Arianna asked in a quiet voice.  And X was reminded of the fact that Arianna was only ten years old; and, as far as she knew, alone in the world. Despite his turbulent adolescence and the life he had been forced to live under the control of the cartel, X had to admit he had grown up in a good home. Something he would make sure that Arianna would have now.    

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Since you said that your mother is dead, and we don’t know about your father, I wanted to know what you think about coming to stay with me and my partner Minx.” X watched for any type of emotion on Arianna’s face, but there was none. He could now understand what everyone meant when they complained about how annoying that trait in him was. 

Finally there was some emotion in Arianna’s eyes. It was the look of suspicion. “Why?” 

X couldn’t look into Arianna’s face, into once perfect copies of his own eyes, and lie to her. “Rafer Cobb escaped from prison yesterday. We want to make sure you’re safe.”  X explained, and Arianna didn’t show any reaction to what he had said for some reason.

They talked for the next couple of hours over random topics. Any information on Arianna’s interests or dislikes was more than interesting to X as he had often wondered how Arianna was growing up. But too soon X realized how late it was getting; he had probably missed the status meeting. 

“Well, I’ve got to go. But I’ll be back this afternoon to get you.” X said as he stood up. He resisted the urge to plant a gentle kiss on Arianna’s forehead. Like a punch to the stomach, he realized why. As X, he wasn’t a father; he didn’t have a family at all. The most he could be to Arianna was a friend of her father’s younger brother. And it just hurt even more knowing that Arianna didn’t know who he is. 

Exiting the hospital, X goes to his car. Getting in the car, X starts the motor; but just sits in there for a moment listening closely to the sound of the engine; feeling the vibration of the motor. He tilted his head slightly to the side and closed his eyes as he concentrated only on the comforting feeling and sound of the powerful motor. 

After he calms the raging battle of emotions inside of him, X opens his eyes as he revs the engine a few times. Putting the car in gear, X leaves his parking space. 

But instead of heading to headquarters, X turned the opposite way. Driving through the city, X wasn’t sure where he planned to go.  He just kept driving as he focused on what the car was telling him. 

Soon the city began to fade away and was replaced with trees and plants as he drove into the foot hills of the mountains just outside the city.  He let his mind wander to the past ten years. He just couldn’t stop wondering what he could have done to stop what happened to Vanessa and Arianna. 

 X suddenly turned the wheel sharply throwing the car sideways before heading down a lonely dirt road. The road ended suddenly, but X took no notice of this as he continued to drive the car through the wooded area until it reached a drop off into one of the valleys below. Throwing the car sideways again, it skidded to a stop and amazingly it didn’t roll.

 X knew where he was before he actually saw it, his hands had forever remembered the drive to this place of a past life; he had been able to drive himself here with out a conscious thought to the drive. The place had changed a lot in ten years. The shelter where he and Vanessa had spent so much time together had fallen into disrepair, the grass was overgrown, and the road defiantly had a lot more potholes than what he remembered. In all it looked as if no one had been here in ten years. 

They had brought Arianna out here once a few weeks after she was born. But they didn’t come back after that; as they worried that Vanessa’s father would one day show up here and find out about Arianna. 

Getting out of the car, X walks around the area as small memories of the nights spent out here fills his mind. Going over to the shelter, he removes the board that held the door shut. The hinges are rusted, so X has to pull hard to get the door to open. 

Once inside, X sees that it really hadn’t changed that much from when he was last inside it. Vanessa’s telescope is still in the corner and the cot where they had their first time was still against the wall. There was a lot more cobwebs, indicating that the spiders and other bugs have been the only living things that have been in here since the last time he and Vanessa had been here. 

Suddenly something poking out from underneath the corner of the cot caught his eye. Reaching down, X pulls out a small Card board box that had been tucked underneath the cot. It was sealed with mailing tape and Arianna’s name was written across the top of it in Vanessa’s even script. 

Vanessa had been back again; and she had left this here to probably give to Arianna one day.  Tucking the box under one arm X leaves the shelter; making sure to bar the door again as he leaves. He puts the box in the trunk of his car before he gets in the car. 

Starting the car, he heads back towards the city; knowing he has to get to headquarters before an entire tact team is sent out to look for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I read this, I discovered alittle inside story that needed to be explained for those unfamiliar with the Speed_fic community on LJ.
> 
> The character Jack is married; his wife, Leslie, is in remission of cancer. Although it is a small detail, it can be confusing for those that have no idea what I'm writing about.


	8. Chapter 8

While X was taking his drive of memories and regret; Ethan was explaining what he had found in the lab: “The stains on the shirt are definitely blood. I haven’t been able to isolate a specific Genetic profile yet. But I do know it belongs to a female. As for the pants, it’s almost a forensic nightmare trying to identify everything on them. But preliminary tests results are that the majority of the stains are blood and semen. If the blood tests positive for Arianna, then it is from injuries. Given that she is too young for defense to argue that it could be menstrual blood.”

 

“Right now we need to verify Arianna’s story about who her mother is and what happened to her.”  David said, already forming a plan of action. “Minx, You and X need to get as much information from Arianna about her mother: any relatives, how she died, and where it happened.  Frank and Jack, I want the two of you to look into her mother’s past. Try to locate her last known address and see if you can find any neighbors or relatives that might remember Arianna or her mother and know what the connection is between them and Cobb. Ethan, I want you to look into any Jane Doe cases that could possibly be Vanessa; a jury is more likely to convict Cobb if we have more solid evidence besides the word of a ten year old victim. "

 

With that the status meeting broke up, and everyone went their own ways to work on their given assignments. Minx, however; corners Ethan as there was something she was wondering about.

 

“How would you know if it was Vanessa? Arianna hasn't been talking about how her mother died or even where she died.” Minx asked wondering how Ethan would be able to identify Vanessa.

 

"She might not, but forensics does. I was able to get a hair from her shirt. It'll help me confirm the identity of any Jane Doe case that might match up." 

 

"How would you do that?" Minx asked, concerned that Ethan might try to match a DNA profile and stumble on the connection between X and Arianna.

 

“Mitochondrial DNA, unlike regular DNA, is passed exclusively through the mother. While it doesn’t give definite identification to someone like normal DNA does, it does establish maternal relationships. Once I’ve narrowed the possible cases down to a few, I’ll contact the agencies in charge of the case to see if they have an mtDNA sample from their Jane Does. If they do, I’ll make a request for either an actual sample of the DNA or just their lab work on it. After that, I’ll compare it to the mtDNA of the hair that I believe is from Arianna that I’ll be able to compare to that of the Jane Doe. If it is a maternal relative of Arianna’s, it will be a match.”

 

"Well good luck. Something tells me, that it's not going to be easy to narrow down the cases."

 

"It probably won't be. So the sooner I start the more I will be able to get through today." Ethan says as he heads towards his desk.

 

Minx had just sat down at her own desk to go through her bag of purchases and transfer them to the duffel bag Jack had brought in of Katie's old clothes; when David approached her. 

 

"Minx, have you heard from X today?”  David asked noting the fact that X had yet to checked in for the day. 

 

"No. But I think I know where he is this morning. He was going to see to the arrangements of taking care of Arianna."  Minx said hoping David would believe her. She really had no clue as to where X was today; she could only hope he didn't decide to do something stupid. 

 

"Try to contact him; we need to get a plan together for Arianna."

 

"I'll try to get in touch with him." Minx said as she turned towards her phone.

 

"When you do get a hold of him, don't let go until he admits what is the matter with him. X has been too distracted for the past two days and if he is going to do his job successfully, he needs to get his head on straight."

 

"Something about this case is really bothering X. He always tries to play tough, but X has a soft spot in his heart that this little girl seems to have wormed her way into. "

 

"Well just try to get a hold of him and tell him to get here as soon as he can." David said as he headed back to his office.

 

Minx picked up her phone and hit the speed dial button to call X's apartment. The phone rang four times before the answering machine came on. Deciding to not leave a message, she hangs up the phone. Minx was just about to call X's cell phone when he walked into Headquarters.

 

"Where have you been? David has been asking what's going on with you."

 

"I went to see Arianna. Then I just took a drive to clear my head." X said as he sat down at his desk.

 

"How was she this morning?" Minx asked; perching herself on the edge of X's desk.

 

"She's alright. But I'm concerned about her eating habits. She had her breakfast when I was there, and she didn't even touch it."

 

"But she was alright, physically?" Minx asked, and X noticed the file in her hand.

 

"Yeah, why is something wrong?"

 

“X, the doctors found something in Arianna’s blood work.” Minx said as she hands X the lab report. X opened the file and quickly read the lab report.

 

“Is that what I think it is?”

 

“I’m afraid so; I checked, independently, probably five times… It all gave the same answer. Fortunately it appears to be in the early stages so it can be easily treated.”

 

“Since Arianna was probably infected by Cobb or one of his associates, we'll have to get all of them checked to figure out who's infected and trace possible other partners to have them treated.”

 

“X, the tox-screen showed that Arianna had high doses of Butalbital and Narcolite Benzamine in her system; it’s possible that Cobb was trying to get her to OD. It also showed that she was frequently dosed with a cocktail of narcotics and barbiturates. However they were not totally absorbed; which means that it probably wasn’t administered intravenously, but by some other means. Since they are still in her system, they weren’t inhalants. So they were probably ingested.”

 

“It’s no wonder Arianna refuses to eat and doesn’t trust any adult. After what she's been through: orphaned, for all she knows; force-fed drugs; years of abuse.  Could you blame her?"

 

"No, but now Arianna will now get a chance to learn to trust people and begin a better life."

 

"When are we able to pick her up?"

 

"At two. So where did you want to take Arianna? David offered us a choice of any safe house we wanted."

 

"I think we'll go up to my cabin. I was just up there a month ago, so it's in good shape and doesn't need a lot done for us to stay up there." 

 

"Sounds good. I'll tell David the plan; then we'll get some lunch and get ready to pick Arianna up." Minx said as she got up and headed towards David's office.

 

******

After the meeting, Frank went to the outdoor cafe that was just down the street from CIB headquarters. He planned on meeting Nico for lunch. Nico wasn’t there yet so Frank took their usual table and moved the other chair out of the way to make room for Nico’s wheelchair.

 

As he waited for Nico, Frank reviewed his notes on the case. He brought them to not only review while waiting for Nico. But Frank often went over his cases with Nico, mainly because she often had a knack for finding the missing piece to the puzzle that everyone else might have missed. Despite being wheelchair bound, Nico’s skill as an agent had definitely not diminished since the accident.  Frank was so absorbed in reviewing his notes that he didn't notice Nico arriving until she was at the table.

 

"I was just thinking about this case." Frank said

 

"The Cobb case." Nico said taking the folder that contained Frank's notes. "I heard about the little girl. Anything on her?"

 

"Only that she's so traumatized she'll only speak to X or Minx. And that she seems to have no one to care for her. Jack and I need to look into the mother's past, to try to find the link between her and Cobb."

 

"That poor little girl, she's gonna need a lot of help when she gets older in order to get over this." Nico said as she read the report about how Arianna was found.  "Hopefully she'll now be able to heal and have a bright future now."

 

Frank could only nod his head as he silently hoped that Nico was right and Arianna could heal from the apparent years of abuse.  Even though Frank had a reputation of being a tough guy, even he wasn't immune to Arianna's plight or her ability to touch a soft spot in people's hearts.

 

******

When X and Minx arrived at the Children's Hospital to pick Arianna up; X notices the change in Arianna. Arianna is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her feet. She is swinging her feet slightly, impatiently. Her face is void of emotion, but her body language is a mixture of nervous anticipation.

 

The hospital had managed to come up with a pair of sweatpants, t-shirt, and sneakers for Arianna. Arianna’s freshly washed hair was braided into two French braids. Little did the hospital staff know that, with her hair that way Arianna looked even more like her mother. As Arianna’s long locks was the exact shade of Vanessa’s hair; and Vanessa had often wore her hair the exact same way.

 

"Hey kiddo, ready to get out of here." X said as he and Minx entered Arianna's hospital room. Arianna only nodded her head, not even bothering to look up from her feet.

After getting Arianna's discharge papers and doctor’s orders, they got ready to leave the hospital. As they were leaving several of the nurses said goodbye. A few of the matronly nurses tried to hug Arianna. But every time, Arianna shielded away.

 

When X opened the trunk to place Arianna’s duffel bag in it; Arianna stepped back a few feet, looking as if she was trying to decide whether to fight or run. Arianna’s breathing had also accelerated as if she was trying to prepare for a fight. While Arianna’s face was void of any emotion, her eyes told a completely different story. X could clearly see an emotional battle being fought inside the young girl at that moment.

 

Minx placed a hand on Arianna's shoulder, in silent support; Arianna jumped as if she had just been stabbed. Her hyper-vigilance and startle reflex were evidence of the years of abuse and the fact that she was on edge about what was happening. No matter how much Arianna seemed to trust them, she still had a large amount of fear about uncertainty.

 

"It's ok, Arianna. We're going to head home. You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you anymore." Minx whispered as she directed Arianna to the back door of the car.  As she sat in on the passenger side of the back seat, Arianna visibly relaxed.

 

'What was it about the trunk of the car that frightened Arianna so badly?' X wondered as he closed the lid and moved to the driver's door. It was one more thing that X knew he probably didn't want to know the reason; but at the same time would always wonder until Arianna felt ready to tell him. 


End file.
